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THE recent formation of the Ministry of Social and Family Development, the leaner-looking successor to the former Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports,
brings a sharper focus on family issues, social services and social
safety nets - in other words, the welfare of Singapore society.

Government concern for society's well-being is not new.

For Singapore, this
started during the British colonial period with the introduction of an
empire-wide Colonial Development and Welfare Act in 1940.

Moral concerns about the
imperial neglect of colonised peoples were exacerbated by the Great
Depression of the 1930s, accusations of colonial maladministration and
wartime anxiety over imperial unity. The Act marked a fundamental break
from earlier laissez-faire colonial governance.

It envisioned colonial
governments proactively improving society's well-being, using British
resources to implement social services such as education, health care,
housing and welfare.

The fall of Singapore to
the Japanese in February 1942 heightened British insecurities. As defeat
was partly blamed on inherent divisions within the colony's plural
society, one solution was a unified government to foster unity among
diverse communities.

Social welfare as a
government function was part of such forward thinking. This was
consistent with Britain's own move towards a welfare state. In late
1942, economist William Beveridge unveiled his plan to reform Britain's
social welfare system by unifying existing social insurance schemes and
related services. The Beveridge Plan became a promise of a fair and just
post-war society, where burdens and risks would be shared and the right
to economic welfare and security would be recognised.

Immediately after the
war, the British Military Administration (BMA) convened a Pan-Malayan
Welfare Council, from which regional executive committees were
established. The Singapore Executive, as the latter came to be called,
included government and voluntary organisations. It started a free
child-feeding scheme and drew up plans for youth clubs and the earliest
version of the Juvenile Court.

For the first time in
Singapore's history, the colonial government was doling out cash
directly to the destitute, the unemployed and others recovering from the
Japanese Occupation.

A Department of Social
Welfare was established in June 1946 as part of the succeeding civil
government. It took over BMA emergency relief operations and adopted
several plans by the Singapore Executive. The fledgling department
expanded rapidly.

Between 1946 and 1949, it
operated feeding schemes to counter global food shortages, conducted an
ambitious social survey that exposed the extent of wretched living
conditions and drew up a long-term plan for social welfare in Singapore.

This was in addition to
the day-to-day functions of the department, including former BMA
emergency relief (renamed Public Assistance in 1951), protection for
women and young persons, care for the homeless and destitute, juvenile
probation services, youth welfare and general counselling (part of which
became Legal Aid).

Throughout the 1950s, the
department was involved in colony-wide planning to introduce social
security. It undertook a ground-breaking social survey in 1953-4, which
revealed the income levels and living conditions of the working class
and established a basic poverty line. It was conducted by the late Dr
Goh Keng Swee, who was also responsible for the earlier social survey.
Dr Goh was with the department from its inception and became director of
social welfare in 1957.

Proposals for social
security were discussed through the 1950s by various administrations.
Plans included a pension scheme, a provident fund, the possibility of a
minimum wage and a social insurance scheme. The Central Provident Fund
(CPF) was the chosen option. It was initially seen by some as the
prelude to a comprehensive social insurance scheme, similar to the
Beveridge Plan, which would have protected workers and their families
from financial insecurity arising from retirement, illness, death and
unemployment.

Despite plans at an
advanced stage (including draft legislation), the scheme was never
realised, an unfortunate casualty in the battle between the People's
Action Party, the Barisan Sosialis and their opposing visions of a
post-colonial Singapore.

We can see from the
colonial-era initiatives the beginnings of social concerns present in
Singapore today. While the Department of Social Welfare is long defunct,
the Ministry of Social and Family Development runs contemporary
versions of its functions, such as the public assistance scheme and
juvenile probation services. Originally a retirement savings fund, the
CPF evolved over time to cover housing, education and health-care needs,
and currently also operates MediShield, a basic medical insurance
scheme.

Recent suggestions of a
new social compact and "wage shock therapy" also mirror past concerns
about income inequality and standards of living.

Still, past and present
contexts are different. Social welfare was introduced in a British
colony that was recovering from World War II. Its implementation was
affected by nationalism, decolonisation, militant trade unions and
unpredictable political developments.

Singapore today is a
politically independent entity, relatively more settled but feeling its
way through the vagaries of nation-building and globalisation - both of
which would also make their own mark on social welfare.

What has remained
consistent over time is government assuming responsibility for the
well-being of those unable to help themselves.

The colonial impetus to
introduce social welfare here may not be all that different from current
aims of new social compacts or wage reform. Essentially, both are
working towards a cohesive and inclusive society. While one was
initially meant to shore up an ailing empire, the other may prove
significant in creating the nation Singapore wants to be.

stopinion@sph.com

The writer, a graduate
from the National University of Singapore, is a doctoral candidate at
the Department of History, University of Hawaii, at Manoa.